As previously reported, car wrecks all over the country have been on the rise over the past 12-months. New Jersey too.
Like a few of the other states we have looked at, the state police collect and publish periodic car crash data where at least one fatality is involved. The Arkansas State Police update their fatal crash statistics each day a new one is reported.
The New Jersey State Police publish a report at the end of each month that shows the cumulative year to date number of fatal crashes up to the last day of each month. We mention this because depending on the method of reporting, only certain comparisons are available, and those comparisons vary from state to state.
In the case of New Jersey, cumulative fatal car wrecks through the first quarter of 2022 (quarter ended March 30, 2022) were 144 compared to 133 in the first quarter of 2021 and 113 in the first quarter of 2020. (The 2021 annual report has not yet been published.)
Percent Increase 2021 to 2022 = 8.27%
Percent Increase 2020 to 2022 = 27.43%
Percent Increase 12 year avg. to 2022 = 21.37%
The chart below shows the first quarter trend going back to 2009.
Disclosures and Explanations
Per NJSP – Data is subject to corrections and adjustments.
“Fatal Car Crash” at least one death. Total car crash fatalities are also reported. Total car crash fatalities are less reliable than “fatal car crashes” because a car crash can result in more than one death. Example, a bus crash with 20 fatalities can bias a periodic count versus prior periods to the upside, even if total fatal car crashes declined year-over-year.
“Man, that ain’t oil that’s blood” is from Bruce Springsteen’s song “Lost in the Flood” from his first Album, Greetings from Asbury Park, Jersey. He has a lot of lyrics referencing car wrecks.